Evil Penevil

Very nice pics. I'm always interested in reports from Japan. Evil

One of my favorite Thai dishes - kale with crispy pork: The street eatery between Sapphire Club and Shark on Soi 15 does it very well. Evil

There are many recipes on the Web; just search for Thai banana pancake (actually, a crepe). Here's one: Banana Pancake Pancake Kleuy Horm Yield: 6 pieces 1 ½ cups all purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 ½ – 2 cups whole milk 1 tablespoon sugar 6 tablespoons butter 3 to 6 bananas, peeled and sliced to ¼-inch thick 3 to 6 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk Place flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and sift a few times. Beat eggs for 1 minute and then whisk in milk and sugar for 1 minute. With one hand, pour over flour mixture slowly in a stream while gently folding egg mixture into flour mixture–just enough to mix. Heat an 8-inch cast iron pan or crepe pan on medium heat. When the pan is hot, melt 1 tablespoon butter in the pan then pour in ½ cup batter. Place desired amount of banana on the top of the pancake batter. Cook until the batter bubbles up and is cooked about 2/3 up from the bottom, about a minute and a half. Flip to cook the other side and cook until the bottom is nice and brown, about 30 to 40 seconds. Place the pancake on a serving plate and swirl sweetened condensed milk on the top as desired. Repeat the process to make 5 more pancakes. © 2010 Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen Love Thai cooking

I did, too, although I was in WhatsUp. I thought it was for effect, as everyone pulled the mini party poppers all at once in near total darkness. It was only when the lights didn't go on again after 10 minutes or so that people figured out something was wrong. Evil

No, it didn't include seconds. You'd have to be one hell of a powerful eater to put back more than one plate. I couldn't finish mine, either. Evil

Another excellent Sunday roast at the Punch & Judy: Cost was 295 baht, plus 75 baht for SML. A very big portion (trio of meats - lamb, beef and a quarter chicken). I'm still full from it. Evil

I was at the HA Christmas Day party and had a good time. I got there fairly late (around midnight) and there was a decent crowd but no problem in getting a good seat. One of the girls was celebrating her birthday. She was circulating a lot, but kept coming back and sitting next to me. She never asked for a drink -she'd already had quite a few - but was nevertheless very affectionate. She asked at one point if she could come home with me. I'm not a regular customer at HA, but I've never had any problem getting the girls' attention there. Like in several similar establishments, a lot depends on whether one or more of the girls already knows you. If they don't, it may require a bit of effort to attract their attention. Usually a smile and a pleasant manner is enough. But you also have to be aware that the most attractive girls at HA have a loyal following and on any given night may be waiting for a regular to show up. Evil

They really liked these panties from Victoria's Secret. Evil

The visit to the orphanage came off this morning without a hitch. BMs gimmble and jaxxon55, together with their ladies, met me at 9.00 am at Makro on Sukhumvit Road. A friend of gimmble's and his lady also came along and I had two ladies with me. The nine of use spent about a hour getting all the staples the Orphanage had said it needed, as well as some holiday treats, snacks and fruit for the kids. We got to the Orphanage at about 10.15 a.m., with me changing 8into my Santa costume along the way. Most of the older children were at a funeral service for the mother of one of the staff members, so we met toddlers between one and three. After the customary picture-taking of visitors behind the donation table, the nannies brought out the kids en masse. They were both fascinated and puzzled by the Santa costume and one little girl tried to pull off my beard, but none seemed scared (that's what I'd worried about the most). They really liked the plush horse I had in the Santa sack. There were some tussles to determine which would hold it first. Four of them got a hold of one leg each and pulled with all their strength, I envisaged the horse being drawn and quartered, but a nanny retrieved it quickly. We then trooped into the nursery and spent about an hour with the kids. Many thanks to gimmble, his friend, jaxxon55 and their ladies for contributing so much to the visit. I'll post a couple of pics now, with more to come. The Orphanage no longer allows picture-taking by visitors inside the nursery and it may be a few days before I get the pics the staff member took of the visit. Bow was my "Santa's helper" for the day. She really likes visiting the orphanage and interacting with the kids. Evil

I've set up a pre-Christmas visit to Pattaya Orphanage to help bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the kids. If you'd like to join, please send me a PM ASAP and I'll get back to you with the details. Here's the general outline: we're supposed to be at the orphanage at 10.00 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22. If we're going to buy stuff collectively, we'll need to meet up at 9.15 a.m. and head to either Makro or Big C. I'll have a car and driver that morning (actually, we may need two), so I have the possibility of picking you up on the way. But if you prefer to do your own shopping and arrange your own transport to the Orphanage, that's fine, too. Everything is very flexible in terms of how you participate. How much your donate is your personal business, nobody has to know but you. The details of what tand how much to buy we can work out via PM or on the phone. The Orphanage gives each of the older kids an envelope with cash so they can buy their own presents and you can contribute cash if you prefer it that way. You can see some pics from an earlier visit here. As well as the toddlers, we'll be meeting some of the older kids as well. Many thanks and Merry Christmas! Santa Penevil

Again, great pics! Keep them coming! Evil

Is The Hobbit shown in Pattaya at 48 or 24 frames per second? Evil

Just to clarify - usually there isn't any problem transiting through Beijing Capitol Airport. I've done it many times (but not on a Chinese airline) without a missed connection or other hassles. Even getting a 24-hour "stay permit" isn't that bad under normal circumstances. Several times I've planned 12- or 14-hour layovers in Beijing so I could visit a friend in the city. It took about 30 minutes each time to apply for and get the stay permit stamped in my passport. But VPI78 is right in highlighting what can happen if you miss a connection and 100 or more people all have to get stay permits at once. That's why it would good if the Immigration Control officer can grant a 72-hour stay permit on arrival. If you otherwise plan to use a Chinese airline that connects to BKK through Beijing, it's a bit of an exaggeration to shun it only because of possible visa problems while in transit. I don't use Chinese airlines myself because of their reputation for overbooking flights and bumping other passengers in favor of Chinese citizens. In the 1980's and 1990's I flew a lot with Chinese airlines and have some real horror stories to tell, but they are mainly concerning domestic flights. It's been 20 years since I've flown internationally with a mainland-China-based airline. Evil

It will depend on how the Chinese authorities apply the change. If it means passengers in transit can simply walk up to Immigration Control at Beijing Airport and get a 72-hour "stay permit" stamped in their passports, that will be huge and probably result in a big boost in tourism to the Chinese capital. But if it is merely an extension of the time limit of the current 24-hour transit stay permit, then it isn't as significant. As you noted, you have to fill in a form and queue up for the 24-hour stay permit at a special desk, which can take a long time, then stand in line again to clear IC. The big difference will be if an IC officer can grant the stay permit "automatically," assuming the passenger has proof of onward travel. Evil

It's quite close to the intersection with Beach Road, on your right if you turn into Soi 6 from BR. Here's the Web site: Mama's Cafe Evil

Actually, I left out one pic from that meal, plus I had a pint of Old Speckled Hen! It's not an Irish Coffee of which a purist would approve (should be a layer of thick, not whipped, cream on top), but it sure tasted good. Fresh strong coffee and a good measure of whiskey. It was under 300 baht, like 285 or 295. Evil

Unfortunately, no! That's possibly one thing you can't get outside the U.K. Evil

Some recent meals: Sunday roast at the Punch and Judy Pub. I should have turned the plate as you can hardly see the meat (three kinds, beef, pork, lamb). It was probably the best British-style roast I've had in Pattaya. It doesn't look like much in the pic, but the homemade apple crumble with custard was excellent, too! I can fully recommend the Punch and Judy if you're looking for a tasty Sunday meal. A chili burger at the Golf Club on Soi LK Metro: Very good Tex-Mex chili topping on a thick, well-cooked burger. French-style shepherd's pie at Mama's Cafe on Soi 6. Yummy mashed potato topping, seasoned with nutmeg. Grilled squid at a Thai street eatery: and a very spicy dish of octopus with chiles at the same place:

Are There More Bodies, Ask Police in Phuket and Samui Murder Hunt By Chutima Sidasathian Monday, December 3, 2012 PHUKET: Samui police are looking at other mysterious disappearances following the discovery of the body of a murdered expat businessman on Phuket. The two Thai holiday islands have now been united in the hunt for the killer or killers of Peter Reisz, 47, a Hungarian found battered and stabbed to death this week on Phuket. (read more) The man police wish to question over a murder, Moshe David Photo by phuketwan.com Phuket Murder: Arrest Warrant Issued for Samui Suspect By Chutima Sidasathian Saturday, December 1, 2012 UPDATE An arrest warrant has been issued for Moshe David, 38, the man Phuket police suspect of killing Peter Reisz. Phuket Police Commander Major General Chote Chawanwiwat said on Saturday that the pair had been involved in a business dispute and Mr David had been seen on Phuket buying plastic bags. Original Report PHUKET: Police on Phuket believe the murdered man found in jungle last night is a Hungarian who was involved in a business dispute on Samui. (read more)

I believe in the past it was Thai Airways' policy to change return flights without charge, even on heavily discounted tickets. But of course, it's always at the airline's discretion to break its own policy if it feels there's an advantage. Actually, they lose nothing by switching a passenger from one flight to another and it's an effective way to generate good will among their customers. What may be happening today is that airlines are trying to boost the advantage of customers buying tickets that are more flexible. Evil

I recall back in 2006 I missed a Thai flight back to the U.S. simply because I was having so much fun and forgot the day I was supposed to depart. It was the most heavily discounted type of economy class ticket (cost only USD 620). The Thai office in BKK changed it to a new departure date without charging me a single baht. There's no chance in hell that would happen today I'll be taking the midnight TG flight to London tomorrow night. Hope it is better than Billions described. Evil

In July, I was scheduled on a flight to AC on the day my visa expired. Because of flight cancellations by Tiger Air, my departure was delayed two days and I was expecting a 1,000 baht fine when I approached Immigration Control. The officer just stamped me through - no fine, no comment from him. Possibly the reason was that I had a double-entry tourist visa and still had a re-entry on it. A guy on the same flight (and a long-term ex-pat in LOS) suggested the Immigration Control officers aren't worried about minor overstays for those with re-entries remaining on multiple-entry visas. I don't know how true that is. But no question that I had used up the first sixty days to which I was entitled. Also, the queue at IC was long and that particular officer seemed to be trying to clear people as fast as he humanly could. He may simply have missed it or figured it wasn't worth his while to slow down the clearing process. Intentionally or unintentionally, I was shown mercy that night. The consensus opinion (on various LOS boards, not just punter boards) seems to be that it doesn't. If an overstay is your only transgression, it won't have a negative effect on your visa application. Regarding visa extensions while in LOS. Last December, I went early (about 8.15 a.m.) to the Jomtien Immi office to get a 30-day extension on my tourist visa. It was a scene straight out of Dante's Inferno. Already huge queues had formed, with Russians rushing each of the lines, shouting and waving their documents above their heads. It was like the scene at the gate of the U.S. embassy during the fall of Saigon. My TGF almost got knocked to the floor by one big guy who charged a queue like a U.S. football fullback trying for a first down. I told her, "Forget this," and we went to a visa agency to get the extension. It cost 2,300 baht for them to do it in 24 hours as opposed to 1,900 if you do it yourself. But that extra 400 baht was the best money I ever spent. If I can possibly avoid it, I'll never venture to the Jomtien Immi office again. Far easier to pay an agency to handle it for you. I used the one inside the Queen Vic on Soi 6, but there are plenty of others. Evil